Quick question: how many software tools does your business pay for right now?
Follow-up question: how many are actually being used?
According to an analysis by Zylo, the average company wastes 37% of its software budget on applications that are unused, underused, or completely forgotten.
That waste usually sneaks in through a few common scenarios.
Shadow IT
An employee signs up for a free trial using a company card. The trial ends, the subscription quietly renews, and you are now paying for a tool no one officially approved or manages.
Redundant subscriptions
One team stores files in Dropbox while another pays for Google Drive. Same job, two bills, zero benefit.
Orphaned licenses
An employee leaves. Their email is shut off, but licenses for tools like Slack, Adobe, or project software keep renewing. These ghost charges can linger for months or longer.
Beyond the wasted spend, these forgotten tools create real risk. They often hold sensitive company data, are rarely protected with multi-factor authentication, and fall outside regular security reviews.
One breach inside a neglected app can become a business-wide problem fast.
Getting control of your software stack is one of the quickest ways to cut costs and reduce exposure. Start by directing all software requests through a single IT administrator or your managed IT service provider. To catch existing software a professional software audit shows you exactly what you are paying for, eliminates overlap, and ensures every approved tool is properly secured and managed.
If you are not sure what is running quietly in the background, it is probably time to take a closer look.